Taming Her Tycoon

by Yahrah St. John

  “Yes, I’d heard about the other group, which is why I had to move.”

  “But if what you’ve told me is true and your intentions are honorable, this could end beautifully.” Kelsey smiled. “And I want that for my best friend. No, my sister, because Naomi is that important to me.”

  “I know that, Kelsey,” Lucius said. “And I promise you, I won’t let you down. I won’t betray the trust you have in me. And I will be good to Naomi and good for her.”

  Kelsey pointed her finger at him. “You’d better. Because if you hurt her, I will come after you after I have this baby.”

  Lucius laughed as he imagined Kelsey holding a baby in one arm and a toddler in another, chasing him down the street with a bat. “I don’t doubt you would, Kelsey, but I have the best intentions.” He used his index finger to make a cross over his heart. “Scout’s honor.”

  Now all he had to do over the weekend was get all the pieces in place.

  * * *

  As she drove in to work on Monday morning, Naomi was ready for whatever the day had in store. The talk with her father on Friday had helped. It always did. He had a way of calming her like no one else could. Over the weekend, she’d had time to reflect and realized she would have to face her feelings for Lucius head-on. He’d own a significant share of her company when he purchased Kelsey’s stock, and there would be no way around it.

  She didn’t know how much of a role he wanted to play at Brooks and Johnson and if she’d have to see him every day, but somehow, someway, she would be strong. She wouldn’t let him see how much she hurt inside because he didn’t share her love. It would take a long time for her to get over him, but she’d done it once before when she’d been a teenager, except this time was different. This wasn’t the crush of a young girl longing to date and heal the hot loner bad boy.

  She was a grown woman now. And she’d experienced pure bliss in Lucius’s arms. With the few lovers she’d had in the past, she’d never felt the way he made her feel. When she was with Lucius, the need and desire to be together was so strong, so potent, she thought she’d die if he didn’t touch her again. And when they were just having fun and being normal, it was awesome. But it was over between them, and she would have to go on without being able to kiss him, touch him, make love to him.

  Naomi pulled her Audi into the parking space outside her building. She said her hellos and morning greetings to her staff as she made her way to the elevator. She pressed the up button for the top floor and anxiously tapped her foot against the tile. When the doors opened, Naomi stepped out and made her way down the carpeted hallway to her corner office.

  “Naomi.” Sophie was waiting for her in the hallway and blocking her path.

  “Good morning.” Naomi was surprised to see her. She tried stepping around her, but Sophie took the same two steps, blocking her path.

  “Good morning, Naomi,” she said, rather loudly in Naomi’s opinion.

  Naomi stared at her strangely. “Are you okay, Sophie? You’re acting weird this morning.”

  Sophie glanced behind her at Naomi’s door. “Oh, I—I’m fine. I’m just so happy to see you,” she said again, very loudly.

  Naomi smiled. She was glad that she had the kind of relationship with her employees that boasted mutual respect and admiration. “It’s good to see you, too. Now, if you don’t mind—” She stepped around her swiftly and reached for her door handle. “Hold all my calls, I have to catch up on a few things this morning.”

  “With pleasure,” Sophie said excitedly as Naomi pulled the door lever.

  When she opened her door, Naomi was shocked to see hundreds of roses in every shade and color sprinkled throughout her office. The scent was overwhelming, but nothing was more so than seeing Lucius standing in the middle of her office in a silver designer suit with a black tie and a large grin spread across his full lips.

  “Lucius?” Naomi was taken aback and stood at the doorway, ready to flee. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

  “Isn’t it obvious?” he asked, coming toward her with his arms stretched out. “I’ve come to win you back.”

  When he reached her, he pulled her inside, enveloping her in his arms. Naomi breathed in the spicy, woodsy scent of his cologne that she loved so much. It was all Lucius. A Lucius she loved with all her heart, but she mustn’t get carried away by such a grand gesture. She had to hear him out, find out why he was here.

  Reluctantly, she pulled away and looked up at him. “I don’t understand.”

  “Come.” He took her hand in his large one and led her over to the sofa. He didn’t let go of her hand; instead he followed her movements as she sat down on the edge of the sofa, unsure just how long this conversation would last.

  “Naomi,” Lucius began. “I’m sorry about last week. How I left things between us.”

  The memory of the pain of his rejection of her and her love still stung, and she slid her hand out of his. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. You don’t feel the same way about me, and I’ll just have to accept that.”

  He shook his head. “That’s not true, Naomi.”

  She stared at him, perplexed.

  “From the moment you came back into my life, I’ve known you were someone special. No—” he stopped himself “—I think I knew before, when we were in high school, when you were this awkward teenager with bad acne and hair, who wore baggy clothes and followed me around. I knew then that I liked you. You were different from all the other girls who were just interested in me for my looks or because they wanted to show off to their friends that they were hanging with the bad boy.”

  “I sensed that you were hurting,” Naomi stated.

  “I know. And you wanted to be a friend and perhaps more, but I was too blind to see it back then. All I could think about back then was blocking out the pain. And since then I’ve been doing the same thing. Using sex as a crutch as a way to keep women at arm’s length, but what I’ve come to realize is that all those other girls were just fill-ins for you.”

  Naomi’s heart turned over in her chest at Lucius’s words, and tears welled in her eyes. With the pad of his thumb, he wiped an errant tear from her cheek.

  “You may not believe this, and I don’t think I knew it myself, but I’d been waiting for you my entire life, Naomi. And somehow, despite all the odds, fate brought us back together. When I first learned about your IPO last year and started buying shares, I didn’t know why I was drawn to you, to your story. It must have been my gut telling me that it was time I finally acted on those feelings I had for you long ago. When I searched you out in Anaheim, I told myself it was to convince you to sell to me, but deep down I knew better. Deep down I knew it was because I wanted you.”

  “You did?”

  He nodded. “And when we reconnected, I sensed that you were as attracted to me as I was to you. I was overjoyed, and I admit I used my charm to break down your defenses. But imagine my surprise when I discovered heaven in your arms.”

  The breath caught in Naomi’s throat and she didn’t know if she could let it out. Could this really be happening? Could Lucius really be pouring out his soul to her?

  * * *

  Lucius could see the shock in Naomi’s eyes as he laid his soul bare. He’d thought it would be easy, and he’d tried practicing the speech he’d give and how he’d tell her he loved her. Instead, he was rambling on about the past, but somehow he would get the words out. He would say the three words she longed to hear and that he couldn’t wait to say aloud.

  “I feel the same way,” Naomi said. “Being with you was everything.” She touched his cheek with the palm of her hand.

  He took her hand in his and bent over it. He pressed his lips against her hot skin. Lucius had never felt this way, this level of intensity with any woman.

  “I’m sorry if I ever made you feel this was just about sex for me,
because it wasn’t.”

  Naomi nodded. “I know, because you care for me.”

  There it was. The line she’d always remember. He cared for her. Not loved her. Cared for her. He hated that she did and vowed to erase it from her memory. He looked into her eyes, searching for—what? That somehow her love had suddenly vanished? It hadn’t. He saw a glittering in her eyes, the sentiment he’d always seen. Love.

  “I more than care for you, baby. I love you, Naomi.”

  “You do?” The hopefulness in her voice stole his heart.

  He nodded. “I do. I love you. I think I have for some time, but I was just too afraid to see it, to admit it. When you told me how you felt, I wanted to run in the other direction.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’ve never felt worthy or deserving of love. My mother left me and my father never claimed me. If it wasn’t for my grandmother, I would have been all alone.”

  “Oh, Lucius.” Naomi threw her hands around his neck and pulled him into her embrace. She clutched him to her chest, and Lucius hugged her back tightly. He could feel his throat constricting, tightening, yet he felt like his heart was expanding at the same time. He hadn’t thought it was possible that he’d ever feel love in his life.

  Naomi pulled away slightly to cup both his cheeks in her hands. “I love you, too, Lucius. I never stopped. And I’ll always love you.”

  She leaned in slightly, tilted her head and then kissed him. Lucius kissed her back with all the love, pent-up desire and passion he’d been holding in all week. He enjoyed the velvety slide of her tongue, the warmth of her lips.

  There was nothing else but him and Naomi. He wove his fingers through her thick curls and held her like that, anchored to him, and kissed her. He both gave and demanded, and Naomi matched him want for want. She arched her body against him as if needing to be closer to him, as close as she could get under the circumstances.

  He fell backward on the sofa and she gripped his shoulders as if she needed something to hold her to earth. He palmed her bottom as his mouth left hers. He kissed the tender skin along her jaw until he made it to her neck. His tongue traced the line of collarbone until he came to her ear and suckled.

  “Lucius.” Naomi’s moan caused him to remember their location.

  “Baby.” Lucius held Naomi in his lap as he lifted them from the sofa. “We have to remember where we are.” Naomi always made him feel like a randy teenager in the back of a pickup truck.

  Naomi blushed. “Yes. You’re right.”

  “Plus, I didn’t tell you everything I had to tell you.”

  Naomi’s brow rose. “There’s more?”

  “Oh, yes,” Lucius said. He set her back on the down on the sofa and reached into his suit pocket. Producing an envelope, he handed it to her.

  “What’s this?”

  “Open it.” He couldn’t wait for her to see what was inside.

  * * *

  Naomi stared at Lucius for several long beats before she finally slid her index finger under the flap to open the envelope. It was an official-looking legal document. She glanced at him, fearful. Was she going to like this?

  “Read,” he ordered.

  “All right, all right.” She began scanning the document. As she continued to read, she was stunned by what she read. He didn’t! Surely, this had to be some sort of mistake.

  Naomi glanced up at Lucius. “I don’t understand.”

  Lucius smiled broadly. “Yes, you do.” His smile showed off his perfect white teeth.

  “But—but it says that you bought Kelsey’s shares and are signing them over to me?”

  “That’s right, baby,” Lucius said. “It’s my gift to you.”

  “But I thought...”

  “You thought wrong. Brooks and Johnson is your baby, and you deserve the right as majority shareholder to lead it into the future. I would like to share it with you and maybe give you a few ideas, since I do own 30 percent of the company.”

  “Oh, Lucius.” Naomi’s eyes welled with tears at not only his generosity, but his love. Because that’s exactly what this was. He was showing her that he loved her and wanted only her. “I would love your help. We can run B and J together.”

  “Are you sure?” This time he sounded unsure. “I don’t want to step on your toes.”

  She nodded. “I’m sure.” She was so touched by his generosity and that he would give up his own ambitions for her. “I can’t believe you arranged this and that Kelsey agreed.”

  “Oh, your bestie told me I was signing my death warrant if I didn’t live up to my word.”

  “You’ve—”

  She never got another word out, because Lucius lowered himself to the ground on one knee.

  Lucius plucked a ring box from inside his suit pocket and held it in front of her. “Be my wife? And make me the happiest man alive,” he said with a large grin.

  “Oh, my God!” Naomi’s hand flew to her mouth. In her wildest dreams, she’d never imagined this. That Lucius, the love of her life, would not only love her as much as she loved him, but wanted to marry her? Surely, she had to be dreaming, so she closed her eyes.

  “Oh, no, you don’t.” Lucius squeezed her hand. “Open your eyes, baby. ’Cause this isn’t a dream, and I don’t want you to miss a single moment.”

  Slowly, Naomi opened her eyes, and the love she saw shining in Lucius’s eyes was the same she’d seen in her own that very same morning. “Neither do I. It seems like I’ve been waiting my whole life for you, Lucius.”

  “So is your answer yes?” Lucius asked. His dark eyes peered into hers. “Because I’m getting kind of anxious down here.”

  “The answer is a definitive yes.” Naomi wound her arms around his neck.

  When they pulled apart, Lucius slid the round five-carat halo diamond ring on her finger. “It’s beautiful,” Naomi gushed, helping him up onto the couch. “It’s just beautiful. Just like you.”

  “Me? I don’t think I’ve ever been called beautiful.”

  “How about gorgeous and sexy?” He motioned with her hand for her to continue praising him. “And handsome, and incredibly intelligent. And I’m going to be the luckiest woman in the world to have you as my husband.”

  “No, I’m the lucky one,” Lucius said, “because I was smart enough not to let the best thing that ever happened to me get away.”

  Chapter 20

  Later that night, after they’d told Naomi’s parents the good news and celebrated with champagne, Lucius returned to his penthouse with Naomi. He didn’t care if the press was still stalking him, waiting to see his next move. His statement several days ago had been less than forthcoming, and they were all eager to see what the millionaire playboy would do next. Little did they know that he was hanging his player card up for good.

  Even Adam had been shocked when Lucius had shared not only his engagement to Naomi, but that he’d gifted her Kelsey’s stock. His best friend had called him insane, but when he’d seen how happy Lucius he was, he’d offered his congratulations. And now Lucius could finally do what he’d been dreaming about all day—take Naomi to bed.

  Unfortunately, his cell phone rang, interrupting their moment and allowing his fiancée to slip away into his bedroom.

  “Hello?” Lucius asked roughly, since he didn’t recognize the number on his caller ID.

  “Lucius Knight.”

  The curt and businesslike tone of the male voice on the other end caused Lucius to stop uncorking the bottle of champagne he held. “Yes?”

  “This is Robert Kellogg, Arthur Knight’s attorney. I sent you an invitation to the reading of his will several days ago and never heard from you on whether you intended to attend.”

  Lucius glanced down at his watch. It was well past 8:00 p.m. “Do you always make a habit of calling yo
ur former client’s family after business hours?”

  “If he was a personal friend, yes,” Robert answered. “And since the reading of the will is tomorrow, I’d rather know what’s ahead, given how your presence could create a volatile situation with the family.”

  “My presence?” Lucius snorted. “You mean my existence, Mr. Kellogg?”

  He ignored the dig. “So will you be attending? I’d like to prepare Charlotte. As I’m sure you’re aware, this has been a trying time for the Knight family.”

  Lucius thought about Arthur’s wife screaming at his mother and how she’d called him a bastard for everyone to hear. “I couldn’t care less about the family’s feelings.”

  “That may be the case, but you’re now a part of it, Mr. Knight and as such, your presence is required.”

  Lucius’s blood boiled. He didn’t want or need this aggravation—not today, not when Naomi had agreed to be his wife.

  “So can I consider your attendance confirmed?”

  He didn’t appreciate the haughty or presumptuous nature of the attorney. “No, it’s not. And whether I decide to attend or not, it will be my decision, Mr. Kellogg. So I guess you, Charlotte and the entire Knight clan will just have to wait and see.”

  Click.

  Lucius relished hanging up on the snobbish lawyer. How dare he talk down to him like he had the right to? Lucius Knight was no one’s pushover.

  “Baby...are you coming to bed?” He heard Naomi’s voice softly calling from the direction of his bedroom.

  Lucius turned to his bedroom door. He would think about the will and his new family tomorrow. Tonight, he wanted to be with his lady love.

  He quickly uncorked the bottle and took it along with two flutes to the bedroom. When he arrived, he was greeted with Naomi leaning against the doorway of the master bath with her robe open. She was wearing a sexy red bustier, garter belt and thigh-high stockings. He darn near lost hold of the champagne bottle in his hand and set it on the dresser nearest him while he stood still, mesmerized by her beauty.

  “You look hot!”